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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Ferris Wheel at Night Chalk Pastel Drawing

Around here carnivals pop up now and then along the roadside. They look so pretty from a distance with all the beautiful, colorful lights spinning and twirling. Students can create this effect by blending chalk on black paper. I like to use black card stock because it's blacker than construction paper. Don't worry about results, the idea is to have fun. The finished projects will probably look more abstract. As always it's good to have some reference material.

This version of the project allows students to try the mirror-image reflection. I used sharpie for the dark pier. I also used painters tape to mask off the horizon. Painters tape won't tear the paper. This works best with high-quality pastels. It might be even brighter with acrylic paint, but I love the way chalk makes it glow. Maybe mixed media? I should do more experiments. Sorry I haven't had students examples recently. I think those are very important. Future post will have some soon!